Cables To Go Trulink 4-Port Wireless USB and Adapter Kit

Wireless USB is the type of technology that should have been released two years ago and wasn't. The standard is ready and willing and products have been released, but it has yet to catch on even with wireless USB kits like the one from Cables To Go.

Page 1: Intro, Box, Parts, Testing, Conclusion

A few years ago wireless USB was supposed to usher in the latest and greatest advances in wireless personal area networks. Everything from Bluetooth to wireless networks were going to use the physical layer from wireless USB. Years later, the market has progressed and wireless USB is still relegated to the outskirts of the market. The promise of ubiquitous wireless communication for all peripherals was the goal. Hopefully, wireless USB will be prevalent in the future. Right now, we have to accept products such as the Cables To GoTrulink Wireless USB kit.

Included in the packaging is the transceiver and wireless hub, manuals and software, an AC adapter, a mini-USB cable, and a handy USB extension cable with a base.

The wireless USB hub itself is pretty non-distinct and looks like a normal wired peripheral. Actually, the hub can act as a normal wired hub with a standard mini-USB cable. This makes the hub useful if you don't have a wireless USB transceiver (which is included in the kit).

The hub contains 4 wired USB ports. Technically, this type of product would be a "bridge" solution for older devices that don't have wireless USB built into the devices. The goal is to build wireless USB transceivers into all devices. When this happens, this hub won't need a dedicated transceiver.

The side of the device has a switch to switch from wired to wireless mode and a mini-USB connection for use when using this as a wired device.

The wireless hub with the antenna is simple and fits with other peripherals without incident. The device does need the AC adapter to be plugged in to function.

The transceiver fits into the computer and it a pretty big device. If you have a laptop, hopefully you have a port that can accommodate this hefty device. For desktops, the added USB extension cable along with the stand on the end makes an elegant solution to the girth of the device.

This devices is a wireless USB host adapter. This device allows your computer to communicate with wireless USB devices. Hopefully these little things will be built into computers in the future so they don't need the extra host adapters sticking out of the computer.

The hub and host adapter are a matched set and need no setup passed the initial driver install. This device does not work in Linux yet, but Linux does have wireless USB support so it is probably just the chipset used by this device that isn't supported.

The USB extension cable along with the upright stand was a nice addition. These little things make certain manufacturers get a step up with consumers and Cables To Go falls into this category.

In Windows, once the drivers were installed, the unit matched with the wireless hub immediately and the hub acted as a normal wired HUB would. There was little speed difference between a wired and wireless version (using a laptop, though). The device worked throughout the entire room which is fine. This device did NOT work in Linux. The chipset may or may not be supported since the device id might not be recognized. Linux does support wireless USB, though.

The Cables To Go Trulink 4-Port Wireless USB and Adapter kit costs about »$150 and it is a perfect kit to get your feet wet with wireless USB. If you aren't interested or have no need for wireless USB, just wait till these are bundled into computers directly. Wireless USB promised to be the ubiquitous wireless connection (at least for the physical layer). This hasn't panned out just yet. Though, the same situation happened to Bluetooth back in its infancy. Hopefully wireless USB will become prevalent soon and these wireless USB kits will be the envy of everyone. Until then, give these a pass.

ASE Labs would like to thank Cables To Go for making this review possible.

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Comments

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